Being in charge of travel management is challenging. Trying to travel effectively and efficiently in today’s remote-first climate means juggling Slack messages, emails, phone calls, and never-ending tabs. Cue travel management companies to save the day.
In this article, we’re comparing the best travel management companies (TMCs) either based in Ireland or offering a solid Irish itinerary. There are plenty of business travel management companies on the market, but we’ve shortlisted the top five, to make this research stage that much easier and to take you beyond the Emerald Isle. Let’s keep those travelling employees, happy employees.
What are the advantages of using business travel management companies?
Make travel booking and management simpler
It’s time to bring your bookings under one roof. Travel booking processes don’t need multiple tabs, incognito browsing mode, or promotion email alerts switched on for you to grab the best travel deals. A solid TMC comes with a solid platform, pulling all of your booking and travel services into one app.
Save money on corporate travel
TMCs secure the best travel and itinerary deals by utilising bulk travel acquisition and long-standing partnerships.
Yet, it doesn’t stop at great rates. Travel management companies can even save up to 20% on your business travel by reclaiming your travel VAT.
Deliver 24/7 support for travellers
From Dublin to Dubai, corporate travel companies in Ireland should be providing around-the-clock support. Which is just as well. In today’s world, travel remains a little unpredictable. TMCs don’t have control of cancelled flights, but they do have control over what your travellers can do because of them.
It’s a combination of speed of service, quality of service, and service accessibility that will make the great TMCs stand out from the good.
Make data-driven decisions in real-time
Access to real-time travel data gives your travel management team control, visibility, and actionable knowledge to optimise your travel strategy.
An optimised strategy will help your business make decisions on the best time to travel, the best itinerary for repeat trips, and will highlight where you can keep cash in the bank for future bookings.
That’s the advantages of working with a TMC out of the way. Let’s dive into the top five travel management companies to consider if you’re based in Ireland or looking for travel solutions in the land of a thousand welcomes.
The 5 best corporate travel management companies
1. TravelPerk
TravelPerk remains on top as an unbeaten TMC on the market. It’s rated one of the top five TMCs on G2 and is often praised for the 24/7 support team, easy-to-use app, and for being “incredibly attentive.”
In 2021, TravelPerk also acquired ClickTravel, the “undisputed leader in UK domestic business travel.” Avi Meir, TravelPerk Co-founder and CEO, commented that ClickTravel “have the best offering for UK companies, incredible know-how, and a deep understanding and appreciation of the value of technology…” all of these things are now complimenting the continued growth of TravelPerk.
Let’s explore a few TravelPerk features that often win praise.
Reasons to choose TravelPerk:
- FlexiPerk: Offer a booking peace of mind by making 100% of your trips refundable, enabling you to get 80% of your money back in just one click.
- Events & meetings management: Whether you need small, intimate meetings or large corporate parties, TravelPerk takes the pressure off with a solution that looks after travel, venue bookings, and managing attendees.
- TravelCare: Ensure you’re delivering on your duty of care for travellers on every business trip. Make better decisions by receiving alerts on changes to any local guidelines, restrictions, or health risks.
- Integrated Travel Policies: Smart travel technology to build approval workflows in under two minutes and ensure your travellers stay compliant while keeping their booking autonomy.
- Real-time expense reporting: The likes of Grammarly, Revolut, and Wise, all trust in TravelPerk for the easy-to-digest expense management interface.
- GreenPerk: Offset 100% of your carbon emissions by contributing to certified projects striving to make a green impact on our planet. Conscious travel made transparent.
- 3rd-Party Integrations: TravelPerk is a plug-and-play solution that’s comfortable playing with the tools you’re already using: Slack, Expensify, Lounge Pass, and so much more.
See how TravelPerk makes business travel stress free
2. Selective Travel Management
Selective Travel Management have over fifty years of experience in handling business travel needs. It’s a popular, independent travel management company in the UK and Ireland. They earn pride of place on this list for their knowledge for corporate clients.
Some of STM’s services include:
- Duty of care: making sure proactive efforts are made to keep travellers safe and sensitive information stays confidential
- Streamline travel bookings: to align with your company’s travel policy and keep a hand on budgets
- 24/7 customer support: that many TMCs offer
Selective Travel Management doesn’t quite offer the variety of travel inventory that some businesses need. They also don’t compare against some of TravelPerk’s most-loved features; like events management, flexible booking with FlexiPerk, and Carbon offsetting with GreenPerk.
3. ATPI
ATPI offers corporate travel, as well as event solutions for organisations of most sizes around the world. They specialise in marine, energy, mining, and yacht travel. With a few decades under their belt, ATPI utilises tech and knowledge to deliver expertise whenever you need it.
The services available through ATPI include:
- Easy-to-use travel tools for a hassle-free booking process
- 24/7 support for customers on the go
- Direct intelligence: for actionable insights on your travel spend
Sectors outside ATPI’s typical wheelhouse may find that it under-delivers. Where ATPI lacks, TravelPerk steps in: offering flexible travel booking and cancellation options, an unmatched travel inventory, and optional VIP services.
4. Frosch
Frosch Ireland is a TMC that describes itself as “redefining what corporate travel is by introducing a luxurious, tailor-made experience.”
Serving corporate clients to individuals and even families, it’s a large provider that’s rooted firmly in Ireland. With over twenty years of experience, they’ve got a boutique approach to their travel management that many enjoy.
What does Frosch have to offer?
- Access to a global team of travel advisors with deep connections in the travel industry
- Obex for Business™: a travel mobile app that all clients use to make travel planning easier whilst on the move
- 24/7 support: is standard for most travel management businesses. However, their personalised approach to this support wins extra points.
As a luxury service specialising on law firms and businesses in the financial sector, Frosch is not as easily accessible to small businesses and start-ups with a limited budget.
TravelPerk steps in, offering travel options for budgets of all sizes, starting with a freemium plan where you only pay when you book. TravelPerk is also kinder on your budget with FlexiPerk, guaranteeing your business up to 80% of your money back if you need to cancel a trip.
5. Egencia
Finally, Egencia. A modern travel management company that serves as a B2B travel tech platform. It operates as a single, streamlined platform that’s customizable to your needs.
Here are some popular Egencia features:
- AI-driven insights: to help improve user experience and acquire great travel rates
- Great travel inventory: including over 290 global airlines available
- Eco-friendly travel programme: to help your business meet sustainability goals and stay transparent on your business travel
So, how does Egencia size up against TravelPerk? For starters, TravelPerk offers a flat fee with no hidden costs. TravelPerk also offers free account management, no binding contracts, and VAT recovery solutions.
Plus, TravelPerk offers external guest accounts and a concierge service. It really outshines Egencia as a budget-friendly option while still offering all the quality, and some!
That’s our travel management companies on the table. We’ll leave you with a checklist of important features you need to look out for when picking the right solution for your needs.
Important features to look for when choosing business travel management companies
An inclusive travel inventory
Whether you’re based in Dublin or Cork, or somewhere else, when booking travel, having an expansive range of travel options is a must. Flights, cars, trains, different types of accommodations, you’ll need to have all of your bases covered.
Flexibility in cancellation options
Having flexibility is a must when booking travel nationally and globally. With global business travel, you’ll need to expect the unexpected and you’ll need a TMC that can accommodate any last-minute changes—including cancellations.
Ensure business travel policy compliance
Every business has its own travel policy, and most struggle to ensure teams stay within that travel policy if they’re not booking through a TMC solution. Why? It means handing over company card details, having to run manual approvals via external comms, and is generally a pain to keep a hold of.
With that being said, double-checking the TMC you do go for is able to automate your travel compliance, to eradicate that manual approval process that’s typically so cumbersome.
Integrate with your current tech stack
Corporate travel solutions need to offer third-party software integrations in order for them to be effective and to fall in line with what you’re currently working with. There’s no point bringing in a new product to your daily ops if it doesn’t work with what you’ve currently got.
Reporting and analysis functionalities
A big feature to look out for when assessing business travel solutions is the reporting and analysis functionalities that your potential TMC has. This can help you learn from previous trips so you can better plan spend, and time, for future trips.
Enjoy seamless corporate travel management in Ireland with TravelPerk
TravelPerk is trusted by the likes of Uber, Beyond Meat, SumUp, and thousands more. It continues to outperform competitors with a suite of fantastic features, from cutting carbon emissions with GreenPerk to offering safety alerts for employees through TravelCare.As one of the highest-rated TMCs on Capterra and G2, TravelPerk is well worth exploring as your next travel management solution. Try TravelPerk today to explore the feature-rich offerings of the platform and change the way you book travel.
Source by www.travelperk.com
